New Discoveries at Jamestown eBook

METALWARE EATING AND DRINKING VESSELS

While large numbers of eating and drinking vessels
made of pottery have been excavated on Jamestown Island,
only a few fragments of utensils made of silver, pewter,
brass, and copper were found. Metalware vessels
were relatively scarce during the early years of the
settlement, and their almost complete absence in the
Jamestown collection may be attributed to the fact
that not many of them were discarded, regardless of
their worn condition. Only a few metal handles
from mugs and cups, and a small number of pewter plate
fragments, have been excavated.

Although no complete specimens of domestic silver
and pewter eating and drinking vessels were found,
17th-century records and inventories indicate that
many Jamestown families owned such wares (especially
after 1630), including cups, beakers, dishes, salts,
salvers, tankards, porringers, bowls, and plates.

It is of interest that 2 goldsmiths, 2 refiners, and
a jeweler arrived at Jamestown in 1608 aboard the
supply ship Phoenix. Although John Smith
related that these artisans “never had occasion
to exercise their craft,” it is possible that
they made a few metal objects (such as spoons) in
the capital city.

GLASS DRINKING VESSELS

Glass was made at Jamestown in 1608-09, and again
in 1621-24. It was, in all probability, the first
commodity made by the English in a “factory”
in the New World. Many glass fragments were found
at the furnace site, but none was large enough to
reveal what specific glass objects were made there.
It appears that drinking glasses may have been among
the items manufactured.

The majority of the glass drinking vessels unearthed
at Jamestown were made in England, although a few
were manufactured in Germany, Italy, and the Low Countries.
In the collection are fragments from goblets, beakers,
bowls, and wineglasses. Four of the English wineglass
stems bear makers’ seals, rare marks seldom
found on English drinking vessels.

GLASS WINE AND GIN BOTTLES

These comprise a large and important part of the Jamestown
collection. Literally thousands of glass fragments
from these bottles have been unearthed, and by diligent
and patient work a few complete wine and gin bottles
have been pieced together.

The glass wine bottles were made in England.
The oldest excavated, made between 1640 and 1660,
have spherical bodies and tall necks. Those made
between 1660 and 1680 have cup-shaped bodies with short
necks. Of the period between 1680 and 1700 the
neck is very short and the body is wide and squat.
Insofar as is known, no glass wine bottles were used
at Jamestown before 1640.